Wednesday, May 20, 2009

For the first time in my life, I'm not angsty and depressed the day after an audition. Why you ask should I ever be angsty and depressed the day after an audition? I'm glad you asked. Normally, after an audition day, I have to wait at LEAST a week to find out if I made it/what part(s) I got.

Consider my Annie audition. That was a week and a half ago, yet I'm still not supposed to find out until Friday, almost two weeks after I auditioned. This has resulted in a refusal to listen to any of the Annie music and a need for chocolate.So why am I so happy? We're supposed to find out about My Fair Lady auditions TOMORROW. Hence my mental thought process for the title. I auditioned yesterday, but I find out tomorrow.So now that I have that ecstatic announcement out of the way, I can actually talk about the auditions.

The Annie audition, I think, could have been better than it was. But that's because the stupid karaoke track for Little Girls messed me up. (Jr. adaptations often cut the songs in a weird way) Other than that, it went great. I read for Miss Hannigan more than once and read for Grace more than once. I think I'm more likely to get Grace, mainly because out of the three teenage girls there, (this was a "kid's" production) I was the only one who put Grace as my second part to audition for.

My Fair Lady....I have only one regret about that audition in the way of temperature. I should have worn my sweater the whole time, but no. So I was shivering while singing Wouldn't It Be Loverly and I Could Have Danced All Night. I read two scenes as Eliza, and I was among the people they asked to do the high G from the end of Danced All Night. (I didn't squeak, woo hoo!!!) Despite such a great audition, I don't think I'll get Eliza, but I'm perfectly ok with it. I didn't expect to be able to audition for her in the first place, especially because I haven't done anything with this theater before, and there were people there that I think were better than I was in the singing department.

So there you have it. Within two days I will know my fate for both musicals, and through that, the fate of my summer.

EDIT: I got in to My Fair Lady! They had the cast list in ONE DAY!!!!! That is unheard of!! I'm just a chorus, but with a show like My Fair Lady, I'm sure I'll have plenty to do. I'm really excited...

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

I loved this episode, because in flashbacks it showed another side to Ben that often gets shoved under the rug, so to speak. We see a less calculated more compassionate side of him that allows Rousseau to live, against orders, and takes Alex, her child, as his own daughter. And Widmore wanted her dead!

Conundrums like this make it impossible to tell whether Ben is the "good guy" and Widmore the "bad guy" or vice versa. I'm beginning to think that neither of them are the ultimate bad guy with the introduction of Jacob's enemy in the finale. Yet, how much do we really know about Jacob. Maybe his enemy is the good guy! I don't know...it's impossible to speculate with any assurance of anything being right.

Another interesting point with this episode was the mention of Penny's mother. Ben said that Charles had "broken the rules" by leaving the Island regularly and having a child with an outsider. This is assumingly Penny by some unknown woman because Faraday is Ellie's kid and she's certainly not an outsider. No wonder Eloise slaps him.

And of course, we totally called it that Desmond had beat the crud out of Ben for almost trying to kill Penny.

So...the Temple. We finally get to go inside it, and it's very very creepy/Egyptian. And that whole scene with Alex....creepy even more. Now I feel the urge to talk about a post-finale theory about that scene, but I feel that might "break the rules," so I'll wait....

Monday, May 18, 2009

As you may recall, I did a mini-post on this episode, so now I guess it's time to do the normal sized post, which will still be quick because I'm trying to get to the finale.

First point, *We so totally called Clementine. How did Sawyer get such a request in such short a whisper? That's the mystery...

*Totally disagree with Cassidy's assessment of Sawyer....he jumped to save them, not to run away from a relationship with Kate. (though running for that reason is good too!)

*Kate......so she tells Carole Littleton that she's going back to the Island to find Claire....well, nothing of the sort has happened yet...they better tell us in Season 6 what happened to Claire and whether she really is dead and in ghostly form like we all think she is. (see this post)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

All right, so I'd really like to talk about the finale of Lost, but because I haven't caught up yet, I'm not allowed to. So...here's the quick, emphasis on QUICK, catch-up for Namaste.

*One of my favorite parts of this episode was when Juliet went over to check on Amy Goodspeed and the little baby. I love how as soon as Amy told Juliet his name was Ethan, she immediately gave him back. Ethan Goodspeed/Rom....nice.

*I also love how Jack was assigned to be a janitor according to his 'aptitude tests.' He's a spinal surgeon, for cryin' out loud!! I wonder if Sawyer had anything to do with it because Hurley very naturally was put to the kitchen to work.

*To anyone who thinks that the writers make all this stuff up as they go alone, explain the runway. Waaay back in Season 3 when Sawyer, Kate, and Jack were captured by the Others, Kate and Sawyer were forced to work on what seemed to be a runway. Flight 316 landed on said runway on the Alcatraz of the Island.

*When Jack went and saw Sawyer, I loved Sawyer's speech. "I heard once Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead." Jack so totally needed that...and Sawyer's a wayyy better leader than Jack was, in my opinion.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

In the April 25th issue of World Magazine, they issued a contest for people to send in their favorite last lines of a book. I sent in one of mine, but it was a tough choice because I have quite a few favorite last lines. So, in a contest of my own, I'll list all my favorite last lines and in comments, y'all can try to guess the books and authors they're from. (just a warning, some of these will be very obvious, but oh well....) The first person to come up with all ten will win...well, nothing except bragging rights.

1. "And Rose drew him in, and sat him in his chair, and put little Elanor on his lap. He drew a deep breath. 'Well, I'm back,' he said."

2. "But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in _____ had only been the cover and title page; now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

3. "'Well!" said Peter. 'We have had a time.''Bother!' said Edmund. 'I've left my new torch in Narnia."

4. "To begin perfect happiness at the respective ages of twenty-six and eighteen is to do pretty well; and professing myself, moreover, convinced that the general's unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to it, by improving their knowledge of each other, and adding strength to their attachment, I leave it to be settle by whomsover it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny or reward filial disobedience."

5. "'We want no proofs; we ask none to believe us! The boy will some day know what a brave and gallant woman his mother is. Already he knows her sweetness and loving care; later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake.'"

6. "When the sea goes down, there will come from the mainland boats and men.And they will find ten dead bodies and an unsolved problem on Indian Island."

7. "He came across this entry.It said: 'The history of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases.'For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat? the second by the question Why do we eat? and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?'He got no further before the ship's intercom buzzed into life.'Hey, Earthman? You hungry, kid?' said Zaphod's voice.'Er, well, yes, a little peckish, I suppose,' said Arthur.'Okay, baby, hold tight,' said Zaphod. 'We'll take in a quick bite at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.'"

8. "None of those things, however, came out of my mouth.All I was able to do was turn to Liesel Meminger and tell her the only truth I truly know. I said it to the book thief and I say it now to you.A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR.I am haunted by humans."

9. "O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."

10. "From behind them suddenly, closer than they imagined, they could hear the roar of Humperdinck: 'Stop them! Cut them off!'They were, admittedly, startled, but there was no reason for worry: they were on the fastest horses in the kingdom, and the lead was already theirs.However, this was before Inigo's wound reopened; and Westley relapsed again; and Fezzik took the wrong turn; and Buttercup's horse threw a shoe. And the night behind them was filled with the crescendoing sound of pursuit..."

So there you have it, my favorite book endings. In addition to submitting answers to where my quotes are from, I'd also love to hear y'alls favorite book endings.

Friday, May 8, 2009

So...just to get it out of the way, the outburst....IT COMPLETELY ROCKED. And Spock ROCKED EVEN HARDER.

(spoilers probably follow)

Before I get on with it, I should explain the premise: basically, the idea for this movie was to take Spock and Kirk and Bones and everyone from the Original Series and make a movie about them before they were in charge of the Enterprise. I think the term that J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and co. have been using is "reboot."

We learn through the course of the movie, that this is not the world of Star Trek as we know it. Apparently, we have come into an alternate universe because of the rift of....*suspenseful music....*

Time travel. So basically, future Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) was unable to save Romulus from destruction, so this crazy Romulan guy, Nero blames him for the destruction of his people and in the course of all this mayhem, they get sucked into the past which then alters chains of events and kills George Kirk in the process.

The story goes on just like any other Star Trek story except that they have a real budget now. Gone are the days of using one shot of the ship over and over to save money. And yet, the spirit of Star Trek remains untainted. Every single actor that played a character from the Original Series portrayed their characters PERFECTLY. Absolutely perfectly. Especially Spock, of course. Mannerisms were perfect, lines were written perfectly, and I have absolutely no complaints. Which is odd for me. Normally I am very picky about characters I already know being played by someone else or being played at all in the case of book characters.

Which brings me back to Spock. Zachary Quinto was destined to play him for the reboot. Normally, I abhor using the word 'destiny' but here it feels appropriate, and I'll tell you why. One day, as Mom was doing her laundry and watching 24, she yells to me, "Tasha! Come here! Come here! This guy looks exactly like Spock!!!!!" It was, of course, Zachary Quinto playing his character on 24 and by the time Mom was watching it, he had already been cast as Spock. "Yeah, Mom. He actually is playing Spock!" So ever since then Mom has obsessed about seeing this movie. With good reason.

I conform to non-conformity. I am myself because everyone else is taken. I am a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron smothered in contradictions in terms. I am who I am and say what I feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.